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Fermentation Atlas

Cheese from Villaluenga del Rosario and the Sierra de Grazalema, Cádiz, Spain

Payoyoqueso Payoyo

Payoyo is a pressed raw-milk cheese from the Sierra de Grazalema made from the milk of local Payoya goats, alone or mixed with Merina de Grazalema sheep milk. In one study of the traditional make, raw Payoya milk was renneted at 32 °C without starter, pressed, brined for 30 minutes and ripened 60 days at 10–12 °C. Made in 6 steps over 2 months. The longest step, ripen, takes 2 months (Guzmán J.L. et al. 2020) and runs at 10–12 °C (Guzmán J.L. et al. 2020). The raw milk's own lactic flora does most of the fermenting.

Key numbers
Main step2 monthsMeasured[guzman2020]Ripen
Temperature10–12 °CMeasured[guzman2020]Ripen
AciditypH 5.2–5.2Measured[guzman2020]Brine

Recipe

Amounts from a sourceAmounts are per litre of milk from a study batch of about 20 kg of milk made at an artisanal dairy by the traditional method.
Raw Payoya goat milk · No starter culture added[guzman2020]
About 0.25 mL per litre of milkAnimal rennet, or thistle (Cynara cardunculus) rennet[guzman2020]
Brine of 15–18 °Baumé[guzman2020]
Starternone; raw-milk flora

Total time across the recorded steps: 2 months

Start
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32 °C

What changes: Rennet goes into raw goat milk at 32 °C and it sets in an hour

Step 1 of 6
Rennet the raw milk
Time
1 h
Measured
Temperature
32 °C
Measured
Salt
None given
Acidity
Not documented

Output: curd.

Flavour
Not documented
Texture
Not documented
Colour
Not documented

Microbes at work in this step

Not documented for this step.

Method

Measured measured in a studySet fixed by a specification or tested recipeReported one source reports itTypical a general value, not sourced for this fermentUnconfirmed not yet checked against a source

What makes this one different

Payoyo is made from the milk of two local breeds, the Payoya goat and the Merina de Grazalema sheep, and traditionally without any added starter, so the raw milk's own bacteria do the souring.

Milk
Raw Payoya goat milk; mixed goat and Merina de Grazalema sheep milk in some cheeses
Ripening
60 days in the study make; ripening varies by product

Related ferments

Variants

  • Goat-milk PayoyoPayoya goat milk only.
  • Sheep-milk PayoyoMerina de Grazalema sheep milk only.
  • Mixed-milk PayoyoPayoya goat and Merina de Grazalema sheep milk.

History and sources

Every number is labelled with how it is known. How this atlas is made

Production under the Payoyo name began in 1997 in Villaluenga del Rosario, whose people are called payoyos; the same type was made in El Bosque from 1986 (outline only).

  1. [guzman2020] Guzmán J.L. et al. 2020, Effect of citrus by-product on physicochemical parameters, sensory analysis and volatile composition of different kinds of cheese from raw goat milk, Foods 9(10):1420paper
  2. [wp] Wikipedia, Payoyo cheese (outline only)wiki